Earth Science Quiz

The objects moving in the sky that ancient people thought were "wandering through the stars" were

• comets and meteors shooting across the sky
• moons revolving around some planets
• planets orbiting around the sun

Ptolemy's model showed that...

• the sun and planets revolved around the Earth
• Earth did not have any moons
• Earth was in a different solar system than the sun

From Earth, some planets seem to shine brighter than stars because they

• Recieve more light from the sun than the stars
• stay in their orbits due to gravity
• are closer to Earth than any star except the sun

Planets shine because they

• reflect light from the sun
• are revolving too fast
• have moonlike surfaces

Which of these early scientists firsts claimed that Earth's orbit was elliptical?

• Kepler
• Copernicus
• Ptolemy
• Newton

Which of these objects do NOT orbit the sun?

• Comets
• meterorites
• asteroids
• all of these orbit the sun

Passing through Earth's atmosphere, a meteoroid

• generally burns brighter than the sun
• often collides with an asteroid to form a comet
• becomes a bright meteor, or "shooting star"
• Follows the orbit of the planet it is nearest to

Which of these statements about the sun is NOT correct?

• It is several billion years old
• it is closer to Earth than any other star
• It is a ball of glowing gasses
• It is the hottest and brightest star

A light year is a unit developed by scientists to measure

• the brightness of objects in space
• the distances to stars
• the size of planets and stars
• the speed at which planets move

Which of these facts about the sun best tells about its temperature?

• It is a yellow star
• Nuclear reactions occur deep inside it
• It is the center of our solar system
• It is the star closest to earth